Prime Minister Lucas Papademos met yesterday with the leaders of the three parties backing the current transitional government - the leaders of PASOK, George Papandreou, New Democracy, Antonis Samaras and Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), Giorgos Karatzaferis - to discuss and jointly decide on the main elements of the agreement with the troika regarding Greece’s new economic programme in the framework of the new loan agreement.

According to a statement issued following the meeting, the Prime Minister and the political leaders agreed on main issues, including the adoption of measures that would reduce public spending by 1.5% of GDP, measures safeguarding the viability of auxiliary pension funds, and the recapitalization of banks. They also agreed to address the competitiveness deficit through such measures as the reduction of wage and non-wage labour costs, so as to support employment and promote economic activity. The Prime Minister and the political party leaders will meet again today to conclude their talks on the content of the programme.

In an announcement, issued on February 3, concerning an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling upholding Germany's position, that it enjoys state immunity from being sued in foreign courts by victims of Nazi atrocities during World War II, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the Greek government will study this Judgement closely, in the light of its firm and longstanding position that the matter of German compensations remains open.

The judgement affects the case of the south-central Greek village of Distomo, where Nazi troops killed 214 civilians on June 10, 1944, one of the numerous instances of WWII atrocities in occupied Greece. The court case concerned the confiscation of German property on Italian soil for reparations to be paid to victims of Distomo.

Meanwhile, in Athens, 28 MPs from PASOK, New Democracy (ND), Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) as well as independent deputies tabled a motion in Parliament requesting a discussion on issues concerning the so-called German occupation loan from Greece during WWII, as well as the issue of war reparations to victims of Nazi atrocities and stolen treasures from the country.

In a letter addressed to the presidents of competent parliamentary committees, the MPs called on Parliament to adopt a clear stance on this "crucial national issue."

Professor Nikos Aravas of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Thessaly was presented with the World Premier International Professor appointment by the Japanese University of Kyushu. He was recommended by the International Institute for Carbon‐Neutral Energy Research’s (I2CNER) Science Steering Committee to develop the science on extracting energy from hydrogen. His work will focus on ways to eliminate material erosion by hydrogen.

Aravas studied Mechanical Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and specialized in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at the University of Illinois, USA, where in 1987 he received the "Presidential Young Investigator Award" presented by the President of the USA. He has been working with the University of Thessaly since 1999 and is currently director of the Mechatronics Institute at the Thessaly Technological Research Centre.

A conference on Economic History, discussing the complex relationship between economy and politics, will take place in Volos on February 10-12.

The conference, titled "Markets" and Politics: Private Interests and Public Power (18th-20th c.) will endeavour to trace the historical evolution of this relationship, over the period when contemporary capitalist economies were shaped.

The event is organized by the Greek Economic History Association in collaboration with the University of Thessaly and will be held in Greek, English and French.

Visual artist Costas Varotsos has been invited by the mayor of Otranto, a coastal town in Italy, to transform a flotsam into a monumental work of art. The Albanian ship Kater I Rades had  sunk in 1997, after clashing with the Italian warship Sibilla, a few miles off Otranto. About 120 Albanian migrants were on board, of which only 37 survived. The Cultural Institute of Lecce Province together with the Municipality of Otranto decided to turn the wreck into a memorial of this tragedy.

Costas Varotsos, entrusted with this project, opted for a glass covering as a means of rendering "fluidity and motion" to the vessel. He named his artwork Landing -a landing attempted by those and many other moving populations, seeking a better life. The monument was unveiled in the port of Otranto on January 29. The ship stands facing towards the land, 'as if it had just come ashore." As the artist put it, he didn’t think of his work as a eulogy, but rather as a resurrection and a reminder.